Whole 30: Part II

In Part I, I explained what the Whole30 is and why I did it.  Here is what I experienced during the 30 days:

How did I feel?

I felt pretty normal. I didn’t experience a sudden burst of energy or this wonderful feeling like my body was healing. In fact, I was tired most days.  The program is supposed to help set your body clock so you are tired at night (which, as a night owl, was really attractive).  Maybe it did that? Or maybe I was just so tired from the lack of calories.  In any case, I was ready for bed earlier than I have been since 3rd grade. It was a welcome change.  I noticed a bigger change in how I felt after the program – more on that in Part III.

They talk about the "carb flu" in the book which hits you at the end of the first week.  I had a headache (and I never have headaches) and I was generally more crabby.  I am not sure if this was the carb flu or caffeine withdrawal. Coffee is allowed, but cream is not.  I can drink black coffee, but decided just to do away with it and have tea instead.

I was sick for about 2 weeks during the Whole30.  Was my body getting rid of toxins? Maybe. But I started the 30 days when Fall was turning harshly to Winter. Snow. Ice. COLD.  I sometimes get seasonal allergies and they came along this year.  It seemed worse to me this time around and lasted way longer than usual. I don't know how the Whole30 played into that, but my allergies definitely skewed how I felt in the process.

And yes. I was TIRED the entire 30 days.  I didn’t have energy to work out.  It wasn’t a debilitating kind of tiring. I still went out with friends and did social things. But I was tired.

This is probably my biggest question about this program – how many calories should I have been consuming in a day? I think I averaged in the 400-800 range, which is really low and probably contributed to my fatigue. As you can see below, my diet was mostly vegetables with some fat and protein.  Maybe I wasn’t eating enough or maybe it is easier for meat-eaters to get in their calories…or maybe this is what was supposed to happen? Still, that low calorie count seemed a little dangerous to me and definitely not something I wanted to continue doing after the Whole30 was up.

What did I eat?

I get this question all the time anyway simply by being vegetarian!  The vegetarian Whole30 is different than the “normal” Whole30.  Veg are allowed to have legumes (beans) and some soy (tofu).  You can see the veg approved list here.  So what did I actually eat? I had 2 eggs for breakfast every day.  Lunch and dinner varied. I did a lot of roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, parsnips, mushrooms, carrots, brussels sprouts etc).   I often put a couple poached eggs on top to get some protein.  I also tried roasting tofu. It wasn’t awful, but wasn’t the best. I made a number of soups that had beans in them for protein.  I also made stir fry without the rice – so tofu and veggies seasoned with some coconut milk.  Avocados were my best friend in this process. I LOVE AVOCADO. I made an avocado pesto and put it on zucchini “noodles.”  I had avocado with my egg, with my roasted veggies, in my soup.  Thank God for the avocado.

I pinned a few things on a board for recipe ideas.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of meal prep.  When I was hungry, I was HUNGRY.  No time to cook, I needed food NOW. It was great to have meals/snacks prepared in advance.  That also made it much easier to stick with it.  Each weekend, I planned out my meals for the following week. I looked up recipes and tried to do something different than I had done the week before.  I prepped meals on Sundays and portioned them out so my lunch and dinner was ready to go. I also figured out what kind of snacks I would have on hand – which was usually a handful of olives, some baby carrots or a banana.

I did go out to eat a few times while on the Whole30.  I ordered salads (and made sure they were compliant) and tried to pack my own dressing.  I also went to a number of family/friend gatherings at home and brought my meal with me.  You cannot succeed in this unless you prepare.

I tracked my Whole30 in a spreadsheet. I logged what I ate at each meal, how much water I had, and how I felt each day.  This helped me stay on track and see how my body felt throughout the process.  I also logged my weight every day - which is highly discouraged in the program as this is not a weight loss gimmick.  I did it to monitor my body and because I am a data freak.  I also took measurements before and after.  More on all of this in Part III.

Was it hard?

It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  There were nights out with friends and family where I dutifully packed my meal and stared longingly at their pizza and beer. But it really wasn’t that hard.  At the end, I was tired of the lack of variety in my diet.  Maybe it would be better in summer when fresh fruits and veggies are more plentiful. I didn't feel deprived, but I started to get bored with my options.

Did I cheat?

Not intentionally.  I had a glass of cranberry juice once – which I think is allowed. But it was at a restaurant so I wasn’t sure if there was sugar added.  I forgot my salad dressing once and had to eat the dressing at the restaurant, which was balsamic vinaigrette and hopefully didn’t have much sugar added.  I also was in a bind after an unexpectedly long day and eating at a friend’s house. I stopped and got a can of organic soup that had peas it in it, which are not allowed. But I think that’s it. I kept with the spirit of the program for the entire 30 days.

Was it expensive?
This is hard to answer.  I love that there are no Whole30 marketed foods.  They want you to eat real food from the earth.  There are no Whole30 labeled products to purchase. That said, organic food is more expensive.  But overall I found myself buying less food. A batch of soup lasted the whole week without the frills of cheese to add in or bread to eat on the side. I think that cost balanced out.  I didn't eat all organic, but I tried to do so as much as possible.  I paid attention to the dirty dozen and did the best I could with the rest.

I also ate out less as it's difficult to eat out on the Whole30. When I did eat out, I had water and a salad - which is cheaper than splitting an appetizer, having a pint (or two) and then an entree. Where I may have paid more for organic produce, I spent less in restaurants so it was a bit of a wash. I've also been trying to incorporate more organic foods into my diet (and budget) over the past year, so it wasn't a huge change in what I was already spending.

I can't speak for meat-eaters.  I imagine the grass-fed, organic meat is more expensive.  Yet another good reason to go veg :)

Should you do it? Would I do it again?
Obviously, I can't tell you what to do. A number of people have said, "there is no way I could do that!"  I'm telling you, you can!  I really think the timing needs to be right, though. I eased into this by cutting out processed foods over the past few months.  I am not sure I would've been able to do this 6 months ago.  Would I do it again? Absolutely. I won't live my life this way, but it was a good reset button.  I will probably do it for a few weeks after the holidays. The book (and I think the site) addresses re-entry after the program and also gives tips on how to use it as a tool going forward.  I'll try to touch on this a little in Part III.

Any other questions? Let me know and I'll add them here. For those of you who have done the Whole30, was your experience similar? 

Part III is on the way with the "results" and what I learned.